Terry Fox (athlete)
Terrance Stanley Fox , CC (born July 28, 1958 in Winnipeg - † June 28, 1981 in New Westminster , Canada) was a Canadian athlete , philanthropist and cancer treatment activist . He was best known for his Marathon of Hope .
Life
Terry Fox grew up in Port Coquitlam , near Vancouver on Canada's west coast. Because of his numerous sporting activities and the associated regular medical examinations, he was diagnosed with bone sarcoma (bone cancer) at the age of 18 . In 1977 his right leg was amputated 6 inches above the knee. From that time on, he used a thigh prosthesis for running.
The suffering of other cancer patients Terry Fox met in the hospital (including many children), he used as an opportunity to walk around Canada to raise money for cancer research. His goal was to cover 42 km, the distance of a marathon , every day . He called this run Marathon of Hope ( Marathon of Hope ).
After 18 months and over 5000 kilometers in preparation, Terry Fox started his run on April 12, 1980 in St. John's (Newfoundland) . Although his Marathon of Hope received little attention at the beginning and therefore the collected amounts were also quite small, his commitment soon gained greater media attention and donations rose.
On September 1, 1980, after 143 days and 5,373 kilometers of running, Fox's lungs became so cancerous that he was forced to end his run early. At that time he was near Thunder Bay (Ontario) . Terry Fox died of the disease on June 28, 1981 at the age of 22.
Honors
Honors during your lifetime
- September 19, 1980: Terry Fox is the youngest recipient of the Order of Canada ( Companion ) for his commitment to cancer research
- October 21, 1980: Awarded the Order of the Dogwood , the highest civil honor in the Canadian province of British Columbia
- November 22, 1980: Awarded the Sword of Hope , the American Cancer Society's highest honor
- December 18, 1980: Receives the Lou Marsh Award , the annual honor given by Canadian sports editors, for exceptional athletic performance
- 23 December 1980: Canadian press, television and radio editors select Terry Fox as Canadian of the Year
- June 6, 1981: Simon Fraser University, Burnaby , issues the Terry Fox Gold Medal , an annual honor given to a student who has shown moral courage in the face of misery
Posthumous honors
- July 17, 1981: The British Columbia government names a 2,639-meter-high peak in the Rocky Mountains Mount Terry Fox .
- July 30, 1981: The 83-kilometer stretch of the Trans-Canadian Highway in Ontario, on which Terry Fox had to end his run, is renamed the Terry Fox Courage Highway in his honor .
- July 30, 1981: The Canadian government establishes the Terry Fox Humanitarian Award , which is endowed with Canadian dollars 5 million , to annually award scholarships to students who have demonstrated the highest ideals, moral courage and commitment to fellow human beings while at the same time doing special academic, athletic, or social provide services
- Aug 29, 1981: Terry Fox inducted into the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame .
- April 13, 1982: A Terry Fox postage stamp is issued by the Canadian Post. This breaks with the in-house tradition of not issuing any commemorative stamps before the tenth anniversary of the recipient's death.
- June 26, 1982: A three-foot-high bronze statue of Terry Fox, the Thunder Bay Monument , is unveiled on the Terry Fox Courage Highway
- 1983: The oil company Gulf Canada names a new construction of a tugboat and oil rig supplier with the name MV Terry Fox . The ship was acquired by the Canadian Coast Guard (CCG) in 1992 and has since been used as a heavy icebreaker under the name CCGS Terry Fox .
- January 18, 1986: Port Coquitlam High School, which Terry Fox graduated from in 1976, is renamed Terry Fox Secondary School . It's just one of many Terry Fox schools.
- June 30, 1999: Terry Fox is named Canada's Greatest Hero in a national poll by the Dominion Institute and the Council for Canadian Unity .
- January 17, 2000: Terry Fox is honored a second time by the Canadian Post with a postage stamp. It is part of the Millennium Collection , a collection of influential and outstanding Canadians of the 20th century.
- April 4, 2005: 11 million Canadian dollar coins bearing a Stan Witten image of Terry Fox entered circulation. The coin is minted to commemorate the 25th anniversary of Fox's Marathon of Hope . Another 9 million coins will be minted for issue in September 2005. The Terry Fox Coin is the first coin from the Royal Canadian Mint to feature the likeness of a Canadian.
- September 1, 2005: For the 25th anniversary, Adidas brings a limited new edition of the running shoes that Terry Fox wore on his run. The model is named Terry Fox and shows a map of Eastern Canada with Terry Fox's running route on the insole. The proceeds from the shoes go to cancer research.
- 2012: Fox inducted into the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame .
- May 2020: For the 40th anniversary, Adidas brought out a new limited edition of the running shoe and a t-shirt. The products sold only in Canada sold out in minutes. The shoe bears the name Terry Fox again and shows the number 40 with a silhouette of Terry Fox on the insole.
effect
His commitment to cancer research still enjoys great attention today. Donations for cancer research continue to be collected in Fox's name. There are annual Terry Fox runs in many countries around the world.
Web links
- The Terry Fox Foundation website (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Terry Fox commemorative Adidas running shoes sell out in minutes. In: ctvnews.ca. May 20, 2020, accessed June 10, 2020 .
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Fox, Terry |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Fox, Terrance Stanley |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Canadian athlete and cancer activist |
| DATE OF BIRTH | July 28, 1958 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Winnipeg , Canada |
| DATE OF DEATH | June 28, 1981 |
| Place of death | New Westminster , Canada |